


I'm Going To Go Back There Someday...

by Kyon813



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Camping, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, HUGE SPOILERS, Listen to the song in the title when they start playing the music, Male Friendship, Post-Canon, Singing, Song: I'm Going To Go Back There Someday (The Muppet Movie), Spoilers, Wee bit self-indulgent, but I'm happy with it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:55:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22045966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyon813/pseuds/Kyon813
Summary: Something in the fire cracked, and Prompto nearly jumped out of his chair.“What was that?” To his left, Ignis snapped his head in the direction of the noise, reaching for the cane leaning against the frame of his seat; the dark scars over his milky eyes glistened in the firelight.“Nothing, Iggy.” Prompto eased back into his chair, nervously brushed the dark-blonde stubble on his chin. “It was...” he shook his head and mumbled, “...just nothing.”“No need to be so twitchy anymore, ya know?” To Prompto's right, Gladio was slouched deep into the canvas, one arm thrown over the back and his legs hanging far over the seat, closest to the fire.“I know, I know...” Resting his head on his upraised hand, Prompto lost himself in the twisting flames.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	I'm Going To Go Back There Someday...

Something in the fire cracked, and Prompto nearly jumped out of his chair.

“What was that?” To his left, Ignis snapped his head in the direction of the noise, reaching for the cane leaning against the frame of his seat; the dark scars over his milky eyes glistened in the firelight.

“Nothing, Iggy.” Prompto eased back into his chair, nervously brushed the dark-blonde stubble on his chin. “It was...” he shook his head and mumbled, “...just nothing.”

“No need to be so twitchy anymore, ya know?” To Prompto's right, Gladio was slouched deep into the canvas, one arm thrown over the back and his legs hanging far over the seat, closest to the fire.

“I know, I know...” Resting his head on his upraised hand, Prompto lost himself in the twisting flames.

Three days had passed since the banishment of the Starscourge, the return of Light to Eos, the end of the Ten Years of Darkness. For every survivor, safety at night was a strange feeling. A decade of cowering in shelters guarded by the beams of artificial suns, while only the bravest and strongest risked the Daemon hordes to refill their dwindling supplies, always knowing they may never return, left them all with scars: scars of constant fear and dread, scars of the unsaid certainty that every “day” might be when everything failed and the Daemons finally took them all.

But those times were over; night was once again finite, temporary, and morning would always come to drive it out each day. Even when night was upon them, Eos was still safer than it had been for countless years; the Daemons that had haunted the darkness long before the Light failed were no more, and would never be again.

The Havens, long guarded by the blessings of the Gods, were no longer necessary for a safe night's rest for travelers and outdoorsmen, but these three men, the last surviving members of the Crownsguard of Insomnia, still chose to camp on the old sigil behind the Hammerhead garage, for old time's sake. A battered but reliable old tent was pitched behind them, their three rickety and patched chairs were huddled around the fire, and dinner was settling in their stomachs; daylight made it easier and safer to gather proper ingredients, so Ignis's cooking was given the chance to shine as bright as it had years ago.

They should have been in high spirits: chatting, complimenting the chef, discussing the days they'd had and the future, now that there would be futures for all of them. But in spite of their comfort, they mostly sat in silence, listening to and watching the curls of orange light lashing and dancing before them.

“Huh. Would'ja look at that?” Gladio finally said. Prompto broke away from the fire and craned his neck back to see past his friend's broad shoulders. Far in the distance, a dot of light glinted in the desert, occasionally blocked by vague figures. A familiar triangular structure was just visible, catching the light on one of its sides.

“Are they...camping, too?”

“Looks like.”

Ignis sniffed, not bothering to face the direction of the other campsite. “Rather risky, I must say...”

“And why's that?” Gladio said flatly. “Only things out there to bother 'em are animals, whichever ones're left. I don't blame ya, but I think you're still worryin' too much, Iggy.”

“Perhaps.” Ignis fell silent, thought for a moment. A subtle smile tugged at his lips. “But if I ever stopped 'worryin'', I shudder to imagine where we may end up.”

“Heh. Yeah, you got that right.”

The three were quiet again. Another few cracks, softer than before, echoed from the fire.

“Things,” Prompto began slowly, “really are safer than ever, aren't they?”

Gladio thought briefly, nodded. “Guess so. No Daemons, no need for Havens, traveling at night's easier, nothing's hidin' in the dark anymore...”

“Fewer contracts for Hunters as well,” Ignis added, “less need for people to risk life and limb to ensure the safety of others.”

A bitter smile crept onto Gladio's face. “Ain't that just the way? Ten years of hell, and the world really comes out better in the end.”

“Yeah,” Prompto said distantly, “all thanks to--”

He stopped before finishing the sentence, but the damage was done: all three became tense and quiet. Prompto fidgeted, and half-whispered “Nevermind.”

“What, we can't say his name anymore?” Gladio's eyes were on him now, the firelight reflecting and burning stronger within them.

Ignis cleared his throat. “Gladio.”

“He did what he did for all of us, for everyone, and you act like he didn't exist?!”

“I'm—I'm sorry,” Prompto stammered, “I didn't mean--”

“You know that wasn't what he meant, Gladio!” Ignis cut in. “None of us would ever say that!”

Gladio barked out a joyless laugh. “Really? 'Cause that's not what I'm hearing! For God's sake, he trusted us with the duty to get the world back on its feet, and you remember him by acting like children 'cause you can't handle that he's gone?! Both of you need to gro--”

“GLADIOLUS!”

Ignis's voice cut through the night air, louder and sharper and more commanding than they had ever heard. His blind eyes fixed Gladio with a stare strong enough to make the hulking man shrink away.

“Enough.” He spoke softly, but his tone was as unyielding as an mythril shield. At that single word, the former Shield of the King turned away and slowly hung his head. Damp spots in the corners of his eyes caught the light. After some time, Gladio grunted, “I'm sorry, Prompto.” The man next to him said nothing; he looked paler than before, shivering gently in his seat.

“I'm sorry as well, Gladio.” Ignis said quietly. “I am certain that His High--” The word caught in his throat, stuck there like a lump of gristle. He drew a breath: slow, shuddering. “that...Noctis, wherever he is, could not stand to know his friends were spending their time turning on each other over something so trivial.”

Gladio nodded. He wiped his eyes with the back of a hand and eased back into his chair, looking up into the hazy sky. “You think...he's really with Luna again?”

“...most certainly. And I can only hope,” Ignis replied, the command in his voice replaced with a sad warmth, “they have found the happiness they deserved in life.” He cleared his throat after he spoke, and stirred with uncharacteristic nerves.

The wind shifted. Prompto, no longer shivering, looked up as it carried the clouds rolled away. Silently, he gasped. “Guys,” he whispered, “look...!”

A full moon beamed down at them from the gap in the cottony layer concealing it. For the last two nights, the clouds had been too thick to see through, or they had been asleep by the time the cover cleared. This was the first Moon they had seen in ten years, now free the nightmarish curse that had hidden it for all that time. 

“I'll be damned...”

“It's still there...I almost didn't think it was!” Prompto's face was flush with awe. As he gazed up at the beautiful light gleaming above, he smiled, truly, innocently, like a child, for the first time in three days.

“I'm sure it is as I remember.” Ignis said solemnly. Hearing his words, and remembering his condition, guilt weighed on his friend's hearts, and Prompto's smile faded instantly.

“I-I didn't mean anything like that, Iggy! I just couldn't believe we were seeing it—uh...”

“Not helping!” Gladio hissed.

If his eyes still worked, Ignis would have rolled them. “Oh, come off it!” He scoffed. “I don't mind if you appreciate what we all worked to restore. Knowing it has returned is more than enough for me...”

Sharing an uneasy glance, Gladio and Prompto turned their eyes back to the Moon, that lone glittering pearl set in a bed of diamond-studded obsidian. While he watched, Prompto didn't just feel the shroud of mourning lift from him; he felt a peace he hadn't known for a decade, maybe longer. Here he was, surrounded by darkness but utterly safe, knowing that every day would be easier and safer than the last, not just for him, but for everyone, as they all worked to heal the wounded world around them. And while their party would never be complete again, the two most important people in his life, who never abandoned him even when their bonds were at their thinnest, were by his side, enjoying this peaceful night together. After ten years of uncertainty, he finally found something familiar.

_This looks...familiar..._

Prompto blinked. Where did he know those words?

_Vaguely...familiar..._

Was it a song? It had something to do with a campfire, and the full moon...

It made him feel so sad...

_Almost...unreal, yet..._

Suddenly, the song clicked for him...

_“You...sure you wanna watch that one, Prompto?”_

_“Aw, c'mon, Noct! I wouldn't make you watch it if you weren't gonna like it!”_

_“Okay...”_

“Hey, Gladio?” He tried to hide the quaver in his voice. “Do you remember...that old movie me and...” Prompto swallowed hard. “...N-Noct used to watch?”

“Which one?”

“Uh...the, uh...one with the...puppets?”

Gladio froze, not having a clue what he meant. Then, his memory clicked as well. “That one?! Haha!” He barked. “God, I totally forgot about it! Can't believe I did after all those times you guys made me sit through it.” Prompto sulked.

“If you mean what I think you mean,” Ignis interjected, “then I remember it being quite charming.”

“Yeah, 'cause you were the only one who knew who most of those old folks were, since you always were one yourself.” As Gladio chuckled and Ignis fumed, Prompto asked, “But, do you remember that one song? We bothered you for weeks to learn it for us.” He laughed, briefly, but his face quickly fell again. “It was during that campfire scene, kinda like...tonight...”

“Campfire scene?” The words floated in Gladio's mind for a moment. Campfire scene, campfire scene...

_“You're really crying over this, Prompto?”_

_“Sh-shut up! You don't get it!”_

_“Ugh. Noct, can you believe...wha—you, too?!”_

_“Huh? N-no, I wasn't... *sniff*”_

“Oh yeah, that part.” Gladio said with a smirk. “What got that on your mind?”

“Nothing,” Prompto turned back to the fire, the red glare clashing with his cloudy blue eyes. “I remembered the movie, and that scene, and it...reminded me of Noct...”

It was silly, he thought, remembering your King and the man who sacrificed himself to save the world through the movies you watched when you were teens. That was a long, painful lifetime ago; they had grown so much even before he left them the first time. Prompto wasn't even sure if Noct remembered that movie when he came back to them, full of lighthearted songs and colorful characters; unfitting for a Savior, let alone a Prince or a King.

They never found a chance to ask. For the rest of their lives, they would never know. All they knew was what they did remember: the times before everything went so wrong. Silly, serious, appropriate or not, they savored every moment because in them they were together, and he was as glad to be with them as they were to be with him, just because he was their friend.

So if they only honored Noctis the King, Noctis the Chosen, Noctis the Savior, were they honoring him at all?

What was the point of everything they'd been through if they forgot their old pal Noct?

Six gentle, wistful notes sang from Prompto's right, each rising higher, holding with a soft waver on the fourth, and falling for the last two. They blended with the sounds of the night, drifting over and wrapping around them like a tender embrace. Slowly, Prompto faced their source: Gladio, leaning back and basking in the firelight, holding a small tarnished harmonica to his lips. During the last ten years, it was the only pastime he allowed himself to keep from his old life. He opened his eyes, looked into his friend's, and played again: four notes, rising on the second before sinking down, leaving an opening, an invitation. Prompto, dumbstruck, stared open-mouthed, until Gladio nodded once, gently, as if waiting for his signal.

After another silent moment, the man in the middle understood, cleared his throat. And after more than ten years, Prompto Argentum began to sing.

“This looks...familiar”

“Vaguely...familiar...”

“Almost...unreal, yet...”

He paused; the first lines he came back easily, but the rest escaped him. Gladio held steady, giving him time. Ignis was now facing the two, listening. “Ah!” Prompto exclaimed softly. He remembered now.

“It's too soon...to feel yet...”

“Close to my soul...and yet, so far...away...”

Prompto paused again. He breathed once more, and quietly sang:

“I'm Going To Go Back There Someday...”

The title of the song left him with a peaceful smile. He eased back, raised his head skyward, and...

“Sun rises...Night falls...”

“Sometimes...the sky calls...”

He glanced at Gladio, still keeping an easy tempo.

“Is that a song there?”

“And do I...belong there?”

“I've ne-ver been there...but I know...the way...”

“I'm Going to Go Back There Someday...”

Prompto lurched forward before the next verse.

“Come and go with me...it's more fun to share...”

He rocked from side to side as he sang, saying each section of the lyric to the man on either side. They met him with sad, encouraging smiles.

“We'll...all be completely...at home in mid-air.”

Eyes closed, he tilted back to the sky, singing to its vast starry breadth.

“We're flyin', not walking on feather-less wings...”

“We can hold on to l-love...”

His voice broke. He was breathing more heavily, and his eyes felt raw and damp. Prompto cleared his throat again.

“Like in-vis-i-ble...strings...”

Shivering but not cold, he drifted off. Only the light wind over the desert plain and the pops from the dying fire were heard...

...until another set of notes, another invitation rose from his right. So, another deep breath...

“There's n-not...a word...yet...”

“For old f-friends...who...just...met...”

He brushed his eyes with the back of a hand, but the tears were already falling too fast.

“P-part h-heaven...part sp-space...”

“Or h-have I...found...m-my place?”

The harmonica's notes became more jagged as he sang.

“You can...j-just vis-it...b-but I p-p-plan...to...stay...”

“I'm G-going...T-t-to Go...B-back There...S-some...Day...”

The music stopped, but Prompto had one more line...

“I'm...Going...T-to...Go B-back...Th-th-there...”

His voice gave out completely, and Prompto was overwhelmed. Face flushed, eyes streaming, shoulders jerking from every sob, he lost all control, doubled over and desperately hiding his contorted face from the others. It was as if he was back in the throne room three days ago, kneeling before the grand throne, clutching the limp, cold hands of his best friend. Every time he tried to look up, see Noctis's face, he was given the full sight of the blade piercing his chest: its gears and polished decorative flair shining in the first light of the sun, drawing a thin red trickle down its steel from the dark stain on its former master's suit. And the sobs came on even stronger.

They returned to the Crown City knowing this needed to happen. Prompto thought he had spent all of his tears the night before, that he could hold them back by telling himself Noct was prepared to do this, and he left this life with no regrets, leaving the world in their hands.

But knowing he was now gone forever, after coming back to them for such a short time...

How could anyone handle that alone?

Warmth wrapped over his bare shoulder; a large hand reached out and gently took hold of him, anchoring him to the present. Prompto struggled to raise himself up and turn to the right, where Gladio was already facing him. His chiseled face with its crossed scars appeared as stern as usual, but a clear trail rolled down from each deep-set red eye and shined against his skin. Another hand came from Prompto's left, smaller but just as firm in its grip on his open hand. He barely caught Ignis wiping his eyes with a free hand, before the wise advisor gave him another kindly smile.

Slowly, Prompto took smaller and smaller breaths, his face settled back from the painful twisting of violent emotion. He looked at both his friends, still far from letting go, and hiccuped “Thanks, guys...”

“Don't thank us, Prompto,” Gladio backed his words with a gentle pat on the shoulder, “you don't need to.”

“Noct...” Ignis hesitated, “Noct told us to 'walk tall', remember? And we plan on holding to that wish. Together.”

“And if one of us stumbles,” Gladio said, “well, we'll just set him on his feet again, every time.”

Prompto hiccuped again, then gave a small laugh. “Good idea. I'll try to remember that...”

All three men sat back in their chairs. The dwindling fire now felt as warm as a hearty blaze as they took in the dreamy silence of the tranquil night. Perhaps one would start a conversation soon, and the others would join without the clipped awkwardness of before. But at the moment, they were comfortable with the silence, and waited out the coming of the dawn in peaceful, harmless darkness, under the hard-won Light of the dazzling Moon above.

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said, a little self-indulgent (it was really an excuse to write characters crying to my favorite song from The Muppet Movie), but it was interesting to imagine the boys dealing with the loss of Noctis and starting to heal after his sacrifice. The most we see is the night before they return to Insomnia and the game ends right when Noct dies, so coming up with natural reactions to the aftermath, good and bad, was a neat challenge. I _mmmmight_ have gone a little hard on my boy Prompto, making him cry that much and recall the kinda-horrific nature of his best friend's death, but it ends well enough, so it's all good :D
> 
> I promise the next time I come back to this world and these characters, it will be _much_ happier. Not without a tear, perhaps, but much happier.
> 
> Happy New Year, everybody!


End file.
